Rockets pick up fourth-year option on Mike D'Antoni's contract

The Rockets picked up the fourth-year option on Mike D'Antoni's contract Wednesday, securing him as coach through the 2019-20 season.

The Rockets picked up the fourth-year option on Mike D'Antoni's contract Wednesday, securing him as coach through the 2019-20 season.

Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images

Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images

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The Rockets picked up the fourth-year option on Mike D'Antoni's contract Wednesday, securing him as coach through the 2019-20 season.

The Rockets picked up the fourth-year option on Mike D'Antoni's contract Wednesday, securing him as coach through the 2019-20 season.

Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images

Rockets pick up fourth-year option on Mike D'Antoni's contract

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After two seasons in which Mike D'Antoni won the NBA Coach of the Year and then the most games in franchise history, the Rockets moved to tie up the loose end in his contract.

More than that, they wanted to make it clear before free agent recruiting begins late on Saturday that their coach would not be going anywhere, picking up their option on the final season of his contract, according to a person with knowledge of the move.

D'Antoni signed a four-year deal as the choice of former Rockets owner Leslie Alexander in June 2016, but the 2019-20 season was at the team's option before the Rockets exercised that option on Wednesday.

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The Rockets went 55-27 in D'Antoni's first season when he became the eighth coach in NBA history to win Coach of the Year awards with two teams, having won in 2004-05 with the Phoenix Suns.

The Rockets went a franchise-best 65-17 this season, the first in team history in which they had the NBA's best record. They advanced to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals before losing to eventual repeat champion Golden State. D'Antoni was fifth in the Coach of the Year balloting announced on Monday.

Making the move this week was in part to remove any uncertainty in preparation for free agency. Expected to be central to the Rockets' free agent recruiting efforts to begin this weekend, the Rockets wanted to be sure that D'Antoni, 67, could answer questions about his future with the team.

In another procedural move necessary before free agency, the Rockets will make their qualifying offer to center Clint Capela to make him a restricted free agent, a person with knowledge of their plans said of the obvious first step toward keeping him.

That move was even more of a certainty given the Rockets' determination to keep Capela and is necessary to be able to match any offer sheet he signs. The deadline on the qualifying offer, worth $3.4 million, is not until Saturday with Capela expected to be one of the most coveted restricted free agents when free agency negotiations can begin at 11 p.m. (central) on Saturday.

If D'Antoni is to be knocking on any doors then, the Rockets wanted to be sure his contract situation was clear, and moved to remove any doubt.